Morris Minor Owners Club

If you get a spark on the distributor external post when the points are open then there is a short in there.

On the threaded post there should be a plastic "top hat" washer, then the metal from the moving point.
The wires from the condenser and the external post should be on the second top hat bush then the nut to secure it all together.

look here http://www.auto-part.com/britCatalogs/m ... =1&page=18 no 6 are the insulators some systems have two top hats one on the bottom and one on the top some have one on the top and a flat fibre washer on the bottom of the post the ,plan shows three lines to the insulators you will have two of these.

The cam and 'nose' are fine - and when the nose is moved by the cam it will pull the spring inwards - away from the dizzy body. We need to see the assembly with the nut removed. Also - you say the feed is live - is that feed coming from the coil - as it should - not directly from the Ign supply......?

woohoo! I'm now getting spark and the timing looks correct.
Thankyou everybody!
It turns out that one of the top hat insulators was missing, I made do with a bit of cling wrap, and now it is working fine.

However, after the pistons fire once or twice, a bunch of smoke shoots out between the carburetor and where it attaches to the engine. I'm guessing that the reason it won't start now is because of a missing carb gasket.

CaliMorris wrote:woohoo! I'm now getting spark and the timing looks correct.
Thankyou everybody!
It turns out that one of the top hat insulators was missing, I made do with a bit of cling wrap, and now it is working fine.

not for long without the correct insulator,don't think you can buy them separately better to fit a new set of points. but well done for sorting it.

I'm guessing that the reason it won't start now is because of a missing carb gasket.

That would definately make a difference.

As previously mentioned that cling wrap probably won't last. You might make up a "2-piece" top-hat insulator with some flat plastic from a milk or oil bottle and a sleeve removed from a wire end terminal or similar (if you can find something the right size).

just buy some new points and keep the old bits as spares in the car,along with the head gasket,trunnions ,gearbox ,
halfshafts ,diff, .trolly jack,spare wheel,radiator etc,won't need a coil(its never the coil)I see he's on his 40.000 posting

Thanks everyone, I bought a new set of points, and now I just have to wait the two weeks for them to ship from England.

I made a carburetor gasket, but it is still not running. Apparently the fuel pump is only pumping up a slow drizzle of fuel, and that's only if I take off the cover and manually help it. I guess that's the only major thing that needs replacing.
Anybody know of a cheap quick replacement?

Try just cleaning the points , drag a folded slip of emmery paper,through them a few times,also remove the pump filter http://www.auto-part.com/britCatalogs/m ... =1&page=11 and clean it with petrol and a tooth brush. Its under the pump on the caseing.You can also buy replacement points,good su pumps are hard to come by ,but there are electronic one which work OK but are a bit noisy,not cheap though,and not many sell secondhand pumps I have one but its in the boot as a spare just in case,like most other owners.

What do the contacts on the distributor cap look like. These wear over time and then the spark cannot jump from rotor arm to contacts very well, if at all. All the distributor/ ignition parts are quite cheap. Can you show a pic of the inside of the cap please??

drag a folded slip of emmery paper

Best not to use emery paper, fine sandpaper is much preferred.

Just finished rubbing fine sandpaper and tinfoil between the points, no change.
I took out the filter, but it looks brand new, not even a smudge on it, Then I looked around the back, there is a red wire that looks like it has broken, but then "patched" by just being twisted back together. Would this be the problem? As far as i know, it should still carry current, but maybe I should try soldering it back together?

You surely don't need to order new points from UK? There must be Austin Healey/MG parts suppliers in California! Oh and I don't suggest carrying a spare final drive.......there are limits ......!!

there is a british auto shop only a few miles away, but their prices are outrageous. Plus shipping, I can get parts for half the price they sell them for. I was looking at alternator and online I can get one for $50, or a kit for about $90. They offer one for $200.

Does the pump tick without manual assistance.If so how rapidly with the outlet disconnected from the carb.

It does not pump at all without manual assistance. It ticked pretty fast, until it started pumping fuel, and then it became useless.
Even with the outlet disconnected it doesn't do anything.

Hmmm - well the Brit Part place is certainly ripping you off....hopefully you order more than one set of points to split the carriage cost! The pump will respond well to a strip down/clean/filter checked and points stoned flat and reset as per the Manual.

if you don't have a manual pm me.Not sure if I can put the link on here due to copywrite, but just do a search on morris minor worksop manual,its on the net free.

well, the filter is clean and so are the points. But the one point on top looked like the arm was slightly bent, it was not touching the other point unless pushed on. I tried to straighten it, but snappee it on accident.
I guess while I wait on the new points I will work on the next problem.
The engine dies the instant I open the throttle. I am pretty sure it is the carburetor adjustments. Is it adjusted purely via trial and error, or is there a perfect set of settings that I should know about?

Set the mixture by adjusting the nut underneath the jet of the carb. It is a brass nut on the underneath of the carb.

With the engine idling, lift the small pin a fraction of an inch to just lift the carb piston. If the revs raise slightly all is well. if the revs raise a lot then you need to weaken the mixture by screwing the adjusting nut up - looking from the top anti clockwise- go a 1/4 turn at a time- then lift the piston again.

If when you lift the pin at the side of the carb a fraction of an inch the revs drop then the mixture is too weak and you need to lower the jet by undoing the mixture nut, viewed from the top turn the nut clockwise a flat at a time.

But before doing any of this, ensure there is oil in the dash pot, undo the black knob at the top and fill with oil to above the top of the piston.

All of this is covered in a workshop manual which I strongly suggest you buy!